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Students sorely lack aptitude for math

According to an advertisement for supporting better education, ExxonMobil states that the United States ranks 25th in mathematics compared to other countries around the world.

Sadly I believe this to be true.

In recent years I have been in contact with too many at cash registers who cannot make change unless their computer register tells them what to pay out. If you give a clerk $5.10 for a charge of $4.10 they are apt to be dumbfounded and have no clue that you want a dollar back, not change.

The education system should, in my humble opinion, return to basics that require manually learning basic arithmetic without any computer assistance. I agree that modern technology is great, but when an adult asked me once how much 4 percent of $9.00 was and I immediately said $0.36, he was amazed that I could compute that without use of pencil and paper. I was shocked.

It is not fair to let so many grow up without the tools to survive when computers are not available. It compares to not knowing to light a candle when the lights go out.

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